Ahmed Kamel – Egypt Daily News
At least 25 Palestinians, including women, children, and displaced civilians seeking shelter and food, were killed on Saturday, August 23, in a new wave of Israeli airstrikes and gunfire across Gaza. The attacks come as famine tightens its grip on the war-torn enclave, with the humanitarian crisis reaching a critical threshold nearly 22 months into the ongoing conflict.
According to local hospitals, the dead included those who were taking refuge in makeshift tents in Khan Younis and civilians trying to obtain food aid in the north. The killings have added to growing international pressure on Israel, as global aid organizations and the United Nations warn that Gaza is now facing one of the worst humanitarian disasters in recent memory.
In a landmark statement on Friday, the United Nations formally declared a famine in Gaza the first official famine declaration in the Middle East. UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher, speaking from Geneva, described the situation as entirely preventable, accusing Israel of blocking critical food and medical supplies from entering the besieged territory.
“The famine in Gaza could have been avoided completely,” Fletcher said. “We are witnessing the consequences of inaction and obstruction.” UN experts estimate that more than 500,000 Palestinians roughly a quarter of Gaza’s population, are now experiencing catastrophic levels of hunger.
Airstrikes on Displacement Camps
In Khan Younis, at least 14 people were killed when Israeli airstrikes hit a cluster of tents housing displaced families, according to health officials at Nasser Hospital. More than half of the victims were women and children.
Emotional scenes unfolded in hospital courtyards, where grieving families mourned their loved ones. One child, standing next to the body of his brother wrapped in plastic, cried out, “Awad, why did you leave me?” A relative of the victims, Hikmat Fujo, pleaded for a ceasefire: “We just want to rest Please, have mercy on us.”
In the north, near the Zikim crossing, Israeli gunfire killed at least five people as thousands gathered in search of food. Another six deaths were reported in scattered attacks across the territory, according to local hospitals and the Palestinian Red Crescent Society.
The Israeli military said it had not received reports of a strike at the specific Khan Younis location but was reviewing the incidents. However, it did not deny the broader escalation of attacks.
Desperate Search for Food
The area around Zikim has become a focal point for desperate civilians hoping to access limited humanitarian aid. Eyewitnesses described a chaotic scene of hunger, heat, and danger.
“I came to find food for my children,” said Mohammed Saadeh, one of the thousands gathered. “But there was nothing left. The crowds were too large, and the gunfire made it impossible.”
Some carried meager supplies of lentils and flour, while others transported injured civilians on makeshift stretchers over war-damaged roads and stagnant wastewater, under the blazing sun where temperatures exceeded 33°C.
A report released Friday by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) confirmed that Gaza is experiencing an active famine that could worsen if hostilities and aid restrictions continue.
Mounting Pressure and Looming Offensive
While Israel insists it is allowing sufficient aid into Gaza, the Prime Minister’s office accuses Hamas of hoarding supplies and denying food to Israeli hostages. These claims are disputed by aid groups and international monitors on the ground.
Meanwhile, military preparations suggest a new Israeli ground offensive could be imminent in Gaza City, where hundreds of thousands of civilians remain. According to the Israeli army, its forces are already operating on the outskirts of the city and in the densely populated Zaytoun neighborhood, which it describes as a stronghold of Hamas with an extensive tunnel network.
Medical NGO Doctors Without Borders reported a surge in injuries and displacement in recent weeks, with clinics overwhelmed and residents facing impossible choices.
“People have been displaced multiple times already,” said Caroline Wilmen, a project coordinator. “Many are choosing to stay because they have nowhere else to go but they also know staying could be deadly.”
Hostage Crisis Fuels Political Pressure in Israel
Amid the ongoing violence, concern is mounting in Israel over the fate of approximately 20 hostages believed to still be alive after being taken during Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack. Roughly 30 other hostages are presumed dead. Public frustration is growing, with massive demonstrations last week calling for a deal to end the war and secure the hostages’ release.
On Thursday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had directed officials to begin immediate negotiations for the hostages’ release and the war’s end under Israel’s conditions. However, it remains unclear whether Israel is willing to return to the U.S., Egyptian, and Qatari-brokered talks, especially after Hamas recently agreed to a new Arab proposal.
Hamas continues to insist that any hostage exchange must be tied to a permanent ceasefire, and rejects demands to disarm without the establishment of a sovereign Palestinian state.
In a separate development, former U.S. President Donald Trump weighing in on the crisis, criticized Hamas’s stance and urged Israel to consider a rapid military operation, claiming it might be the only way to secure the hostages.
As diplomacy falters and the humanitarian crisis deepens, the people of Gaza remain caught in a relentless cycle of displacement, hunger, and death, with no clear end in sight.
